LEGAL SERVICES OF NORTH FLORIDA, INC.

LEGAL SERVICES OF NORTH FLORIDA, INC. (LSNF) welcomes gifts of cash, securities, insurance, vehicles, property and gifts by bequest and direct donation. These policies are designed to encourage gifts to LSNF without encumbering it with gifts that do not fulfill the mission of LSNF or are not cost efficient to manage. These policies are intended as guidelines. Some gifts may be complex in nature and require careful consideration of a number of factors before a decision can be made regarding the acceptance of a gift. Therefore, in some instances, the Board of Directors may need to make the determination whether to accept a gift when staff feels that it does not fall within the guidelines of the adopted Gift Acceptance Policy.

It is our intention to publish LSNF's list of donors. However, donors shall always have the option not to have their names publicized. Under no circumstances shall LSNF furnish a list of its donors to anyone for the purposes of marketing and donor records are to be kept confidential. This policy seeks to avoid potential conflicts of interest and donor relations problems. LSNF shall adhere to the Donor Bill of Rights in all aspects of solicitation, confidentiality, and donor intent.

GIFT DESIGNATION

To ensure that gifts go to LSNF as the donor intends, any legal vehicles related to these gifts (stock transfer papers, insurance beneficiary designations, will, or the like) should identify the organization as Legal Services of North Florida, Inc.

Cash

1. Gifts of cash, checks, money orders or credit cards shall be accepted regardless of amount unless, as in the case of all gifts, there is a question whether the donor has sufficient title or is mentally competent to legally make a gift to LSNF.

2. All checks must be made payable to LSNF and shall in no event be made payable to an employee, agent or volunteer for the credit of LSNF.

Publicly Traded Securities

Securities that are listed on the New York and American Stock Exchanges and on NASDAQ shall be accepted by LSNF. Negotiable securities for which there is a readily available secondary market will be accepted under the same policy as cash gifts. By policy, securities will be converted to cash at the earliest possible date through a broker approved by the Executive Committee or its designated representative committee, unless extenuating circumstances cause the LSNF board to hold onto the securities for a determined time. In no event shall an employee or volunteer working on behalf of LSNF commit to a donor that a particular security will be held by LSNF unless specific action is taken by the board or Executive Committee acting on their behalf. LSNF retains the right to select the broker for all stock related transactions.

Non-publicly Traded Securities                  

1. It is LSNF's policy not to accept non-publicly traded securities, unless at the discretion of the Board.

2. The Board's discretion shall include the right to dispose of any non-publicly traded stocks.  LSNF retains the right to select the broker for all stock related transactions, as noted above.

Real Estate                   

1. No gift of real estate shall be accepted without prior approval of the Board or the Executive Committee acting on their behalf.
2. No gift of real estate shall be accepted without first being appraised by a party mutually chosen by LSNF and the donor, who shall have no business or other relationship to the donor.
3. The donor is responsible for all costs entailed in appraisals, environmental impact study and title search. LSNF will be responsible for all costs entailed in the selling of real estate. The donation amount attributed to the donor for recognition and tax purposes will be the selling cost, minus costs associated with maintaining the property until a final sale (ie: local taxes, maintenance costs, advertising, realtor costs)
4. No real estate gift shall be accepted without first taking the environmental liability risks and an appraisal into account.
 

Tangible Personal Property

1. Jewelry, artwork, collections and other personal property shall not be accepted unless the employee, agent or volunteer working on behalf of LSNF believes the property has a value in excess of $500, and is easily liquidated to cash. All such property will be accepted only by the approval of the Board. An exception to this policy are items intended for use in the day to day operations of LSNF and are regularly budgeted and purchased items or items utilized in fundraising such as: auction items, prizes or supplies needed for the event.

2. The gift of vehicles or boats shall be accepted by LSNF only after an agent designated by LSNF takes procession of the property in LSNF’s best interest and is the agent designated to dispose of the property and remunerate LSNF. Donors wishing to donate vehicles or boats will be recognized and acknowledged for the amount realized by LSNF after the agent’s commission and selling costs are realized. LSNF will not accept permanent title to vehicles or boats unless the board and executive staff deem the vehicles an integral part of providing services to LSNF clients.

3. Personal property shall not be accepted if LSNF is obligated to own it in perpetuity. Perishable property or property that will require special facilities or safeguards will not be accepted without prior approval of the Board.

In-kind donations of goods and services may be accepted providing they reflect the needs and mission of the organization. The donor shall provide a written statement of the fair market value at the time of donation of the articles or services.

Other Property

Other property such as mortgages, notes, copyrights, royalties and easements shall be accepted only by action of persons duly acting on behalf of the Board.

Bequests

1. Gifts of cash or other liquid assets through wills shall be actively encouraged by LSNF.

2. In the event of inquiry by a prospective donor, representations as to the future acceptability of property proposed to be left to LSNF in a will or other deferred gift shall be made only in accordance with the terms of the accepted LSNF Gift Policy.

3. Gifts from the estates of deceased donors consisting of property that is not acceptable shall be rejected only by action of the Board. LSNF shall expeditiously communicate the decision of the Board to the legal representatives of the estate. If there is any indication that the representatives of the estate or any family member of the deceased is dissatisfied with the decision of the Board, this fact shall be communicated to the Board as quickly as possible.

4. Attempts shall be made to discover bequest expectancies. Prospective bequests often can be converted to inter vivos life income plans that provide greater tax and financial benefits for donors and larger (and Aguaranteed@) gifts to LSNF.

5. Where possible, intended bequests of property other than cash or marketable securities should be brought to the attention of the Board and every attempt should be made to encourage the donor involved to conform his or her plans to LSNF policies. This keeps the good will of donors and their families.

Charitable Remainder Trusts

1. Generally, LSNF will not serve as trustee of a charitable remainder trust for its benefit.

2. The Board will identify a number of corporate fiduciaries in which it has confidence. Only with the approval of the Board may a corporate fiduciary be recommended to a donor.

3. The fees for management of a charitable remainder trust will be paid by LSNF only upon approval of the Board.

4. The Board, and other volunteers and employees acting on behalf of LSNF should become familiar with the types of property that are generally accepted by corporate fiduciaries as suitable contributions to charitable remainder trusts. Employees or others acting on behalf of LSNF shall not encourage donors to make gifts of any property to charitable remainder trusts that are not in keeping with the general practice of corporate fiduciaries.

5. No representations shall be made by any employee or other persons acting on behalf of LSNF as to the manner in which charitable remainder trust assets will be managed or invested by a corporate fiduciary that may be recommended by LSNF.

6. Charitable remainder trusts and all other planned gifts shall be encouraged as a method of making gifts to LSNF. Those trusts shall not be marketed as tax avoidance devices or as investment vehicles.

Gifts of Life Insurance/Designating LSNF as Beneficiary

1. LSNF may encourage donors to name LSNF to receive all or a portion of the benefits of life insurance policies that they have purchased on their lives. LSNF must be named as both the beneficiary and owner for the donor to qualify for an income tax charitable deduction.

2. LSNF may not, however, as a matter of course, agree to accept gifts from donors for the purpose of purchasing life insurance on the donor's life. Exceptions to this policy will be made only after researching relevant state laws to assure that LSNF has an insurable interest.

Finder's Fees or Commissions

LSNF will pay no fee to any person as consideration for directing a gift to LSNF

Professional Fees

1. Except as set forth above with regard to real estate, LSNF will pay reasonable fees for professional services rendered in connection with the completion of a gift to LSNF as stated in the above gift policy.

2. Fees shall be reasonable and directly related to the completion of a gift. They shall be limited to: appraisal fees by persons who are competent and qualified to appraise the property involved and who have no conflict of interest; legal fees for the preparation of documents; and accounting fees incident to the transaction.

3. In situations where advisors retained by LSNF prepare documents or render advice in any form to LSNF and/or a donor to LSNF, it must be disclosed to the donor that the professional involved has been retained by LSNF.

Named Funds

1. A donor must contribute a minimum of $10,000 to create a named endowment fund.

2. LSNF reserves the right to place any endowment funds with a public foundation or recognized trust entity for management. LSNF intends at the creation of this document to utilize the Community Foundation in Tallahassee for such management or like organization in the other LSNF communities. The LSNF Board is wholly responsible for the decision on whether to maintain or change the endowment management entity.

3. Endowment Funds are created for the long term sustainability of LSNF and as such only the interest is to be used to maintain and/or enhance the provision of services under LSNF’s mission. By board decision interest may be applied to the capital or utilized in the provision of services to LSNF clients.

4. Donor Intent is to be the primary use of funds realized from an Endowment Fund. Only in the case of the elimination of services directed by the Endowment (Elder Law, Domestic Violence, etc.) would the Board then direct the funds to be utilized in a like area of practice or without an obvious link funds would then resort to unrestricted support.

Any restrictions set by the donor must be approved by the Board before acceptance of any restricted gift.

Donor pledges to LSNF from any fundraising effort will be assumed to be promised in good faith. LSNF will make every effort to make donors aware of outstanding pledges. In the event a donor does not fulfill their pledge within a timely manner LSNF will adjust their donor level accordingly. LSNF does not intend to publicly embarrass or legally solicit donors who do not fulfill their obligations.

1. Donors may make gifts in their own name, the name of their business or community entity, in honor of someone else, or anonymously. Acknowledgments should be in good taste and consistent with the tone of LSNF. Religious, political, racial or bigoted statements or references will not be accepted. Any questions on the appropriateness of an acknowledgment should be referred to the board or Executive Committee after review by LSNF senior staff.

2. Donors may not use or request the use of their contribution in any political marketing or advertising. LSNF should not be put in the position of appearing to endorse any candidate due to their personal or professional support.

3. Any entity which does not adhere to the principles in the overriding mission of LSNF will not be welcomed as a recognized donor to LSNF. For example any business or firm who traditionally preys on poverty level citizens, domestic violence victims, children or seniors would not be recognized as a donor. Members of the Florida Bar in good standing will be deemed partners in providing "An Opportunity for Justice" for all. Members of the Florida Bar under ethical or criminal investigation will be prohibited from public recognition of their gifts until such time as they are in good standing, have been cleared of all charges, or have completed any punitive actions by the courts.

4. Naming Opportunities and categories associated with a specific campaign or event will be reviewed and published by the Development Office with input from event committees and/or the board, and should be consistent throughout the program. All donors will be honored at the advertised levels. Board Members, volunteers and/or staff are prohibited from offering or providing enhanced naming opportunities over and above the advertised levels. This is an important point in maintaining a fair and equitable recognition program. In-kind donations will be honored at the fair market value of the gift. In-kind donations are accepted only for goods or services already deemed essential to the provision of services to clients or for expenses budgeted for development efforts.

12/03/05